


you're a cowboy like me

by clexylexy



Series: Works Based On Music [1]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: CEO!Lena, Escort!Kara, F/F, and also a little damaged, based on 'cowboy like me' by tswift, but they encourage change in each other, they're both a little greedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-13 21:07:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29160141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clexylexy/pseuds/clexylexy
Summary: Lena is one of the most powerful people in the city. Kara is an escort with a knack for swindling rich people. They quickly begin to realize that they’re more alike than they think.(Based on the song “cowboy like me” by Taylor Swift.)
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Series: Works Based On Music [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2140557
Comments: 22
Kudos: 203





	1. this is gonna be one of those things

**Author's Note:**

> If you have the time, I recommend that you listen to “cowboy like me” by Taylor Swift before you read this story. Not only is this story based around this song, but it’ll also really help set the scene. I hope that you enjoy!

_ and the tennis court was covered up _

_ with some tent-like thing _

_ and you asked me to dance _

_ but I said ‘dancing is a dangerous game’ _

_ oh, I thought _

_ ‘this is gonna be one of those things’ _

_ now I know _

_ I’m never gonna love again _

_ I’ve got some tricks up my sleeve _

_ takes one to know one _

_ you’re a cowboy like me _

-

“I’m  _ just  _ saying, slapping the word ‘fundraiser’ on it  _ doesn’t  _ exactly make me like Morgan Edge any more than I already  _ don’t. _ ”

Kara turns her head as she takes a seat at the bar, glaring teasingly at Maxwell Lord as he crosses his arms beside her. He offers a friendly smile to one of his colleagues that passes by. It immediately drops off his face once they’re out of range and he looks back at Kara, “Can you  _ please  _ just behave tonight?” He taps the bar, the bartender nodding to him and mixing something up quick, which he slides over to Kara. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

The second he turns around, Kara pokes her tongue out and mocks quietly, “ _ Don’t do anything stupid. _ ”

She sighs once she’s alone, kicking one heeled foot rhythmically as she glances about. Almost every person she’s ever been hired by is in this room: all of them being high-status, rich men with sticks so far up their asses there isn’t even a point in  _ trying  _ to dig it out. She rolls her eyes as she makes eye contact with one of them and he winks at her.

It’s  _ almost  _ enough to make her want to drink.

Maxwell Lord should have known better than to order her something alcoholic. She passes her drink off to some guy beside her and orders a glass of water instead. She  _ never  _ drinks when she’s working. She hardly drinks, period. She made that mistake once, back in the beginning, and she’d be a fool to make it again.

Kara Danvers has been an escort for just over eight years now. Most of her work involves going to dinner with and attending parties such as these with anyone willing to pay a… rather large hourly fee. She doesn’t do sex, and she  _ certainly  _ doesn’t do love. She’s definitely  _ faked  _ love with some of her clients, if only to get a few extra hundred out of them, but she’s never felt it. Most of these men are just looking for arm candy, anyway.

Maxwell Lord has been her  _ only  _ client for just over a year now. He’s always outbidding anyone who tries to purchase her time, and because she’s rather fond of the money she’s been making, she puts up with it. Plus, he’s probably the  _ least  _ annoying client she’s ever had. 

Kara thinks that the  _ most  _ non-annoying part about him… is that he doesn’t pay attention to her more than he has to. Kara is fairly certain she’s the  _ only  _ escort he’s ever hired, and it only took her a month into their working relationship to figure out  _ why.  _ When she’d told Alex about her new customer, the  _ CEO of Lord Industries,  _ Alex had done a spit-take. She’d then told this  _ wonderful  _ tale about how she’d been investigating an attack in his lab (seeing as she’s an agent for the FBI) for a few weeks prior to him hiring Kara, and he’d tried to ask her out  _ three times.  _ Half of Kara’s conversations with him are about her sister, and half of Kara’s conversations with him end right after they’ve begun. The  _ most  _ annoying part about him is how much of a puppy dog he is for Kara’s sister. Kara’s  _ gay  _ sister.

(But she’s making good money. So,  _ maybe  _ she sometimes plans outings where they run into Alex, and  _ maybe  _ she lets the occasional update slip.)

This quote unquote ‘fundraiser’ being hosted by Morgan Edge is probably the least interesting party Kara has been to all year. It’s supposedly to raise money for a local children’s hospital, but Kara remembers when Alex had gone to her  _ begging  _ for her to stay away from him. Kara listened. He’s been on her mental hitlist ever since. She doesn’t even need to know  _ why,  _ she just trusts her sister.

She thinks she spots Max off across the room, talking to a girl Kara doesn’t recognize. It doesn’t bother her either way. She spins around once on her stool and begins eyeing the place for food. She’s sure her eyes grow three sizes when she spots the buffet across the room.  _ The  _ only  _ thing these parties are good for… _

She gets about two feet away from her spot at the bar when she feels a tap on her shoulder and turns. 

The first thing her eyes land on is a pair of expensive-looking diamond earrings. They’re  _ gorgeous,  _ and Kara spends a few seconds letting potential prices run through her head. She tries to imagine them on her own ears. They would go perfectly with the current black and white, skin-tight dress she’s wearing.

The second thing her eyes land on is a set of green eyes, watching her attentively. The third is a pair of bright red lips rising into a smirk the longer Kara stares. And  _ oh,  _ does she  _ stare.  _ After all, it’s not every day  _ Lena Luthor  _ approaches her at a party.

“Care for a dance?” Kara looks at the perfectly manicured hand she extends, then glances off towards where she knows Max is. She sees him watching her carefully. 

Thinking about how much money he’s paying her tonight, she eyes Lena’s hand warily, “That… might be a little risky. I’m here with Max Lord tonight.”

Lena Luthor shrugs, her smirk growing, “What’s he gonna do?”

Kara tilts her head slightly and considers her words.  _ She  _ is  _ Lena Luthor. She makes more every minute than Max probably makes in an hour…  _

Kara smirks back and takes her hand.

It takes Kara all of five seconds to realize that Lena Luthor is a little possessive. She’s confident, and (after asking for consent) places her hands on Kara’s hips and pulls her very close. The music has a moderate pace, but it’s quick enough that Kara can put a little extra sway in her hips. She settles her own arms over Lena’s shoulders and links her hands behind her neck. It feels a little intimate, considering the fact that they just met, but Kara is nothing without her boldness, and from what she’s gathered neither is Lena.

“I know who you are,” Kara says as they sway, eyes flicking between Lena’s.

“Well, I know about  _ you,  _ too.”

“Oh, really?” Kara smirks. She isn’t really  _ that  _ surprised. Her prior job at Catco as a reporter had gotten her an entrance into this world of big CEOs and folks in the 1%. And when you pick up a new vocation such as  _ Kara’s,  _ word travels fast. But  _ Lena Luthor  _ knowing about her…  _ that  _ is interesting. She’s always seemed  _ just  _ out of reach for Kara. “What’s your move, then?”

Lena shrugs her shoulders and leans forward, whispering into Kara’s ear, “You’ll have to stick around to find out, unfortunately.” Lena’s breath simultaneously sends a shiver down Kara’s neck  _ and  _ warms her. Kara hums, merely finding Lena’s words intriguing. 

“I’m a little curious,” Lena continues, “Do you even  _ like  _ these parties?” 

That makes Kara laugh, “To an extent. Do  _ you? _ ”

“I like dancing,” Lena says, bringing her head back so she can look at Kara once more. Kara feels like she’s peering into her soul. She changes the subject, “I saw you with Max earlier. You hate being around him.”

“You say that like it isn’t obvious.”

“I said it  _ because  _ it’s obvious.” Kara hums, unable to keep her lips from rising slightly. Lena presses, “Why are you with him, if you hate him?” 

“First of all, I’m  _ ‘with’  _ no one,” Kara raises a brow, “But why, are you interested?”

Lena doesn’t hide the way she glances down at Kara, “Maybe.”

Kara clicks her tongue and looks up as if in thought, “I’m  _ pretty  _ expensive.” 

“Well,” Lena says, pulling Kara a little tighter against her, “Money isn’t an issue for me.” Kara smirks knowingly. “What will it take for you to leave this party with me?”

_ Oh. So it’s gonna be like  _ this. 

Kara glances over Lena’s shoulder, meeting Max’s eyes across the room. He’s shooting daggers by now, no doubt having been watching almost the entire time. As she breaks the eye contact she’s had with Lena, she starts to feel the  _ countless  _ stares they’re getting all across the room. She isn’t entirely sure how to describe how it makes her feel. It excites her, being seen with Lena Luthor in this way after knowing her for all of five minutes. But it also makes her feel a little… dirty. In a bad way.

_ Fuck the consequences,  _ she thinks,  _ I’m not in the mood to be oogled tonight.  _

“Hmm,” Kara finally says, bringing her gaze back to meet Lena’s, “Probably not much.”

Lena takes a moment to draw Kara away from her in a twirl, bringing her closer than before on the way back. Kara feels her breath catch in her throat as they stop inches from one another’s faces, and she watches dumbfoundedly as Lena smiles and steps back, releasing Kara and beginning to walk towards the exit. 

“Excellent.”

-

Lena takes Kara back to her penthouse. Almost immediately when Lena unlocks the door, Kara is overwhelmed by how spacious the entrance feels. Kara does a little 360 spin as she steps inside, walking ahead of Lena. Lena pauses by the door to type the security code in to prevent an alarm from going off. Her eyes roam, taking in as much as possible in the first sixty seconds. 

Lena’s apartment is incredibly  _ white.  _ That’s one of the first things Kara picks up. The marble backsplash in her kitchen and red-cushioned stools at her kitchen island are some of the biggest accents, with almost everything else being some form of white or grey. It all looks expensive and somehow  _ so  _ Lena Luthor, even though Kara hardly knows her. She almost feels like she  _ shouldn’t  _ take off her shoes; like she’s entering the lobby to a  _ really  _ fancy hotel, or something.

Kara lingers closer to the doorway, stepping to her left and eyeballing the electric fireplace. Lena heads to her kitchen and comes back with two glasses of what looks (and smells) like brandy, offering one over to Kara. Kara accepts, and Lena steps back into the living room, taking a seat in one of the white leather armchairs, her gaze locked on Kara as she inspects the area.

Kara runs her hand on the smooth stone over the fireplace, bringing her head down and looking at her own reflection in the dark glass closing up the fireplace. She pauses for a moment, picking up some kind of black and white vase carefully in her free hand. Lena doesn’t comment on it, so she takes that as a sign that she isn’t bothered by Kara touching her things.

(Kara’s sure she could replace it in an instant, anyway.)

“I’ve always been curious about you,” Kara says as she sets the vase back down, walking past the fireplace and stopping by the wall of windows. A sliding glass door sits slightly ajar, leading out onto a balcony that overlooks some of the best parts of the city. Kara grabs the handle and tugs it open a little more, breathing in the nighttime air. “I didn’t realize you were into women.”

She glances back just in time to see Lena smile at her over her glass, one brow in the air. She shrugs and says nothing. 

Kara steps a little closer, stopping by a small table and spinning the small potted plant. Its vase is sleek and black. Kara has to actively force herself not to cringe when she sees the fingerprints she leaves behind. She runs her fingers over the leaves of the plant. Lena watches her fiddle with it. Kara looks a little closer when she realizes the leaves don’t feel  _ quite  _ right, and fake-gasps, “Lena Luthor can’t afford  _ real  _ plants?”

Kara has heard Lena ‘laugh’ once or twice tonight. Or, at least, she  _ thought  _ she had. She realizes that none of them had been genuine until the one she releases  _ now.  _ “Do you know how often I actually  _ exist  _ in this space, Ms. Danvers?”

“Please don’t call me that,” Kara says, “Kara is fine.”

“Alright,” Lena nods once. “Kara it is, then.”

Kara steps around the small table and stops at the glass coffee table just in front of Lena’s armchair. She picks up a magazine with Lena’s face on the cover and is in the middle of looking for the article written about her when Lena speaks again.

“What exactly does Max Lord ask of you?”

Kara looks up, seeing a quizzical, curious look in her eyes. “Why are you so interested in my relationship with Max Lord?” Kara raises a brow, stopping on an article about the best fall desserts. She continues, “He isn’t even selling anything, you know.”

“Funny that you think Max Lord would discuss his business dealings with  _ you, _ ” Lena says coldly.

Kara tries her best not to look offended. She  _ knows  _ she’s merely his escort, but… she also knows she’s the closest he can get to Alex. He  _ does  _ tell her things, every now and then.

“So you  _ are  _ after something of his. What is it? Is it me?” 

“Don’t flatter yourself, Kara,” Lena says, taking a long sip of her drink. Kara has yet to touch hers. She sets it down beside the magazine, back on the coffee table. “Besides, you’re already with  _ me,  _ aren’t you?” 

Kara hums.

Lena stares at her for a moment, “Max Lord hasn’t had a solid partner in a  _ long  _ time. You might not be quite that, but you’re still the longest-running relationship he’s held, whether that’s for business or something else. Consider me curious.”

“You’ve bought out most of the men who’ve hired me in the past. I highly doubt you’re only  _ curious. _ ”

“You say that like they’ve gone bankrupt,” Lena rolls her eyes, “All of the men I’ve bought out are  _ just fine.  _ They still have their money. They weren’t selling because their businesses were failing. They were selling because I gave them more money than they would have made in five years running their businesses the way they were running them.”

“Kinda seems like they got a little stiffed, then,” Kara tilts her head.

“How so?” Lena shrugs, “It isn’t my fault I’m better at this than they are.”

Kara laughs, “No. I suppose it’s not.”

Kara is a  _ lot  _ of things, but one thing she absolutely  _ isn’t  _ is stupid. Naive. She prides herself on that. And she prides herself on her ability to smell bullshit from a mile away. And  _ every time  _ Lena asks about Max and gives a vague response… she can  _ feel  _ she isn’t getting the entire story. But she’s also gathered enough in the past hour to know Lena isn’t going to reveal anything just yet. Not even with Kara’s usual methods of persuasion. 

_ Unless…  _

Kara steps around the table, approaching Lena on the armchair. She runs her hands over Lena’s shoulders and brings herself into Lena’s lap, taking a careful seat. She secures her hands behind Lena’s neck and plays with the dark hair there. Lena lets it happen, setting her drink aside and peering up at Kara cautiously. Kara leans in close, “I’m gonna figure you out, you know.”

Lena does the  _ opposite  _ of what Kara thinks she will, leaning so close that Kara can smell the brandy on her lips, “Promise?” 

Kara lifts her chin slightly, but not enough so their faces actually touch. She clenches her jaw subtly, trying to hide the way her head is spinning being this close to a woman this beautiful. She eventually smiles and brings her head back a bit, eyes narrowing. 

Lena speaks again before she has a chance to respond, “How much was Max paying you for the night?”

“Five thousand for the party. I never go home with him, though.” 

_ Why did I feel the need to say that?  _

“Consider it doubled. For leaving with me,  _ and  _ for staying.” 

Kara tilts her head, saying quickly, “I don’t do sex.”

Lena is just as quick, “I wasn’t asking for it.”

Kara purses her lips. She  _ never  _ does stuff like this. But  _ so rarely  _ does she have an opportunity to be in the presence of someone as A-list as Lena Luthor. She thought  _ Max  _ was high on the food chain, but Lena? Lena  _ is  _ the food chain… 

After a few moments, she nods.

-

Kara sleeps in the bed beside Lena, but they don’t touch. Lena respects her personal space. Kara likes her a little more for it. 

(Kara likes her a little more in general. She gets the sense Lena has never hired an escort before. Kara can just sort of sense that type of thing on someone. And while she still isn’t  _ entirely  _ sure why Lena hired her, she can already securely say she’s simultaneously the most interesting and the least annoying out of all her clients.)

When Kara wakes in the morning, she’s completely alone. She knows Lena is one of the most powerful people in National City, and she knows she’d probably trigger some kind of deadly alarm if she even  _ tried  _ to steal or anything of the sort, but she still finds it odd that Lena trusts her enough to leave her alone.

She takes her time getting up. She uses Lena’s shower, and glances not-so-subtly through Lena’s closet, touching the expensive fabrics and admiring them closely, then heads out into the kitchen, getting ready to leave. 

She spots a thick envelope on the kitchen counter, her name sprawled across it in black ink. She puffs out a breath and picks it up, spotting a note folded up directly underneath it. She opens the envelope and flicks through the money, sure that Lena didn’t stiff her. She closes it back up and tucks it in her bag, picking up the note and opening it up.

_ There’s more if you want it. You can start by coming to dinner with me tonight. Text me. -L (455) 567 8575 _

Kara smirks and tucks the note away alongside the envelope, heading for the exit. She pulls out her phone as she steps into the elevator, her eyes immediately being drawn to a text from Max Lord.

**Max:** Don’t even think you’re getting paid for last night.

Kara snorts.

  
**Kara:** Good thing Ms. Luthor paid me double, then.


	2. takes one to know one

_ never wanted love _

_ just a fancy car _

_ now I’m waiting by the phone _

_ like I’m sitting in an airport bar _

_ you had some tricks up your sleeve _

_ takes one to know one _

_ you’re a cowboy like me _

-

As soon as Kara steps into her apartment, she sighs.

Kara’s apartment is nothing like Lena’s. It’s all dark tones, mood lighting, and a vast amount of knick knacks she’s collected from foreign places her clients have taken her. It gives her rustic but expensive bar vibes. And yet, this feels less like herself than Lena’s apartment felt like Lena. It hasn’t always looked like this, though.

It used to be colorful and cozy. Kara used to display her articles in frames on the wall. She used to paint in the corner just beyond the living room. But that’s all gone, now. In storage somewhere. Kara stopped feeling like that person when she started… well, you  _ know. _

She makes her way towards the back where her bedroom is, pulling aside a panel behind her desk and revealing a small safe. She types in the code and tucks the ten thousand in cash away. Once that’s dealt with, she picks herself back up and sits at her desk, opening up her laptop.

As she waits for it to boot up she texts Lena.

**Kara:** This is Kara. I’m down for tonight.

**Lena:** Good. Be ready at 6.

She smiles down at her phone then sets it aside, turning her attention to her laptop.

She’s known about Lena Luthor for some time now. Various clients will sometimes talk shit about her, whether it be because she bought their business, flipped it around, and now makes  _ way  _ more money than they’ll  _ ever  _ see in their life, or because they’re simply sexist and don’t like that a woman is more successful than them. Kara has always been a bit of a fan for this exact reason.

But Lena Luthor, it seems, has done some research on Kara. At least, she’s done research on  _ Max,  _ and now knows a few things about her. Kara thinks levelling the playing field is necessary. So she types Lena’s name into a google search and immediately begins looking around, trying to stick with the sources she knows to be reputable.

There are a few things Kara is well aware of coming into this: Lena owns LCorp; Lena has an older brother, Lex, who had to step down about ten years ago for ‘personal reasons’; Lena purchased Catco first, and proceeded to extend her dealings to other companies as well; and Lena is one of the smartest, richest women in business.

Kara wonders how Lena has the brain capacity to even be aware of the ongoings of all of these different places. About an hour of digging later, and she figures out that most of them, such as Catco, have standing CEOs that all report back to Lena monthly. James Olsen is that person for Catco. Kara met him when she still worked for Catco. And she sees him still, here and there at some of the functions she attends with her clients.

The  _ most  _ interesting of her findings, though, is an article from  _ The Daily Planet  _ speculating that Lena is going after parts of Max Lord’s company, pretty much confirming Kara’s suspicions. It’s merely speculation, and there’s nothing specific, but Kara still considers it a win.

It doesn’t answer the question, though, of  _ why me?  _

-

Later that afternoon, Kara meets her sister for coffee.

“And  _ then  _ she was like…  _ ‘I wasn’t asking for it,’ _ ” Kara lowers her voice dramatically despite knowing Lena’s voice is angelic and actually fairly close to her own in terms of pitch. “And I thought I might die then and there.”

Alex looks at Kara over her mug, flipping the page of the magazine she has open on the table between them. She glances between it and Kara as she continues.

“I spent some time googling her this morning. I’m pretty certain she’s using me to get to Max Lord. I don’t know  _ why,  _ though, it’s not like I’m his girlfriend.”

Alex opens her mouth, then closes it, shaking her head. 

“What? Alex, what?” Kara reaches between them and closes the magazine so Alex is forced to look up at her. She told Alex a long time ago about what she  _ actually  _ does for a living, and ever since Alex has had difficulty maintaining eye contact when Kara tells her about the people she gets hired by. 

“I just… think you need to be careful with her. That’s all,” She sighs, “She’s not up to anything illegal, as far as I know, but she still isn’t exactly someone I trust.  _ Especially  _ not when she’s… Lex Luthor’s sister.”

“Of course I’ll be careful,” Kara says seriously. Alex clinks her mug with Kara’s and nods.

They spend the next five minutes discussing Alex’s adorable crush on Kelly Olsen. But Kara can’t help the pestering remnants of her thoughts on Lena Luthor as they prick at the edges of her mind. She sees green eyes every time she blinks.

She waits for a lull in their conversation before she leans forward, “Wait… have you investigated Lena before?”

Alex takes a sip of her drink. Kara can see the battle in her eyes as she debates exactly  _ how  _ much information she’s willing to give up. Eventually, she comes to a conclusion and settles with her hands wrapped around her mug on the table. She shrugs, “There… was an investigation, yes. Right after her brother stepped down. She’s always on our radar, but… there’s nothing I can really discuss with you, Kara. It’s classified.”

“Even for sisters?”

“ _ Especially  _ for sisters.”

Kara pouts and blows a raspberry, “Poo.”

Alex gives her a deadpan look, sighing, “Just know that she hasn’t done anything  _ illegal,  _ as far as we can tell.” 

“Great,” Kara brightens, straightening her back. “I like her more than Max, I’ll tell you that much.” Alex puffs out a breath of annoyance. Kara can’t help but smile teasingly as she asks, “Is he still trying to get you to go on a date with him?”

“ _ Yes.  _ I don’t know how many times I have to say ‘no’ before he gets the hint and leaves me alone.”

“His persistence is good for my wallet, though,” Kara says it rather cheerfully, but Alex makes a face that Kara knows all-too-well. Kara leans back and drops her hands into her lap, ready for a lecture. She’d  _ nearly  _ avoided it, “Okay, don’t start.”

“I just think that--”

“Nope. No. Please don’t question what I’ve decided to do with my life right now. I’m not in the mood. I’d rather not be dragged down by your negativity,” Kara fiddles with her pants under the table. She’d never admit to Alex just how anxious and horrible it makes her feel when she gives her that  _ look.  _ It screams: I love you, but you can do better.

“Have you considered trying to get your job at Catco back? You were doing great as a reporter!” Alex says, trying her best to sound encouraging. 

Kara gives her a sideways glance, “Yeah, but that didn’t really fit the bills, did it?”

Alex looks like she  _ really  _ wants to say something else, but she decides against it and leans back, dropping the subject entirely. Kara is grateful.

It wasn’t that Alex is disappointed in her. Kara knows this somewhere in her rational brain. Or at least, Alex has never said  _ directly  _ that she’s disappointed in her. There’s simply a level of judgement that she can feel, prodding at her confidence in an Alex-like manner. Constantly. And she would rather just try to forget about it. But when Alex brings it up, it uncovers that insecurity Kara has been battling for some eight years now… 

Kara is in the middle of taking a sip of her coffee and glancing out the window, thinking about green eyes filled with curiosity and zero traces of judgement, when Alex lets out a quiet cough. A quiet cough turns into an uncontrollable cough mere moments later. Kara is at attention quicker than a cadet. 

She grows concerned, moving to sit beside Alex instead of across from her. She rubs Alex’s back gently, grabbing a bottle of water from Alex’s backpack and handing it to her open. She takes several long sips, bringing a closed fist up to cover her mouth as she lets out a few lingering coughs. Kara keeps her eyes locked on the side of Alex’s head.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Alex says after a moment, setting the bottle down and wiping her hands on her pants. 

“You’re sure?” 

“Yes,” She chokes out, clearing her throat and trying to regain control completely, “Just a tickle.”

Kara looks at her for a long, hard moment before nodding and moving back to her seat, “Okay.” 

Kara is about to try and distract Alex with talk of their mother, Eliza, when Alex’s phone vibrates on the table. She picks it up and reads it over, sighing, “I have to go.  _ Promise  _ me you’ll be careful with Lena Luthor.”

“...I promise.”

-

Kara puts a lot of thought into her outfit.

Lena Luthor has proven herself to be a worthy opponent. Kara has rarely worked for women, so most of her swindling has been done on over-eager, easy-to-manipulate men with only two working brain cells, and one train of thought. Lena Luthor is a  _ lot  _ different. She’s reserved, insanely smart, gorgeous… Kara is going to need to be on her A-game.

She dresses in a suit, fully white. She felt incredibly inspired after her time spent in Lena’s penthouse. The blazer reaches down past her hips, and she chooses a white bra and white mesh shirt to go underneath, showcasing her toned stomach. She wears her hair up in a ponytail, and finds a pair of tall white heels in her closet. She wears gold jewelry on her wrists and around her neck as accents. Kara would stand out, that much she was sure of.

Kara is sitting at her kitchen island reading a book and glancing at the clock occasionally (seriously, hasn’t it been 5:58 for the past twenty minutes?) when she hears a knock at her door. A man in a suit with a cap tucked securely on his head is outside, informing her he’s here to pick her up. 

He takes her outside to Lena’s car, which Kara recognizes from the night before. She’s expecting Lena to be sitting inside, but she’s alone. She spends the majority of the car ride inspecting the back seat. There’s a reusable water bottle tucked in the door, empty. A few magazines tucked into the pocket of one of the seats ahead. A crossword, half completed. Kara picks it up and solves the rest of it in the ten minutes it takes them to get to the restaurant. 

Kara feels like she’s stepping out onto a red carpet when she arrives. There’s a line of people going out the entrance, all trying to get a table no doubt. Kara puffs her chest a bit and holds her head a little higher. A man in a suit with a terrible fake tan and his hair combed back to cover a growing bald spot stands beside the valet. He has a name tag with the title  _ Manager  _ on it. Kara thanks the driver as he closes the door behind her and places a hand on her hip, tilting her head down at the man.

“Ms. Danvers?” Kara nods at him. He smiles and gestures for her to follow him, “Ms. Luthor is already here, waiting for you. Right this way.”

Kara gets dirty looks from the people in line as she follows after him. She glares back at them.

“How much did Lena pay for a table?” Kara asks as they walk. She looks around; glass chandeliers, candlelight,  _ real  _ velvet, expensive glassware… Everywhere Kara looks she sees privileged, snobby people. Kara can’t remember the last time she was in  _ this  _ restaurant without a reservation. Sure, some of the people she’d been here with had been able to pull some strings, but even then they had to do so a few days in advance. 

“I’m not sure Ms. Luthor would want me to share that information, ma’am,” He smiles politely. Kara sighs and rolls her eyes when he turns back around.

They enter a more private area of the restaurant, where a pianist sits in the center of the room, playing what sounds like  _ Clair de Lune, L. 32.  _ Kara sees Lena almost immediately, sitting at a small table drinking some kind of red wine, watching the pianist with intrigue. Her attention shifts, however, when she spots Kara approaching in bright white out of the corner of her eye.

Kara tries not to look  _ too  _ smug when she catches Lena doing a once-over.

Lena gets up to pull out Kara’s chair, and the manager leaves quickly per Lena’s dismissive, “Thank you.” Lena returns to her seat once she’s sure Kara is comfortable and leans back, her attention now fully focused on Kara.

They’re at a two person table, which was a bit of a shift for Kara. Usually when she gets hired for evenings like this, she’s meant to be some kind of… of… distraction. There’s  _ always  _ business involved. It’s never  _ just  _ dinner. “Just us?”

“Is that okay?” Lena asks, quirking a brow.

“Of course,” Kara says. Lena picks the bottle of wine up out of the ice bucket, pouring a glass for Kara. Kara doesn’t grab it, instead going for the glass of water just beside it. She takes a sip and sets it aside, looking down at the menu. 

It’s quiet between them until  _ after  _ they order. Once there’s no longer a sheet of paper for Kara to stare at, she has nothing left to do but look at Lena. This makes Kara incredibly nervous, but Lena looks relieved. She lifts her glass to her lips and takes another sip of wine. Kara notices the way her eyes shift to Kara’s untouched glass, “Apologies for not asking before, but… you don’t drink, do you Kara?”

“Not really, no,” Kara shakes her head. Lena hums and grabs Kara’s glass, picking it up and pouring its contents into her own glass. She sets it on the end of the table. It’s scooped up by someone before Kara can even blink. 

“I wish you’d said something last night. I certainly don’t need an  _ entire  _ bottle to myself,” Lena smiles, “I’m sorry I didn’t pick up on it.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Kara says, leaning back.

“I have to admit, I’m pretty surprised you accepted my offer,” Lena says.

“Even after you deduced how much I  _ loathe  _ Max?” Kara says, squinting and tilting her head in a way that indicates she’s  _ mostly  _ joking. She doesn’t  _ loathe  _ him… Dislike? Maybe.

“Even so, you’ve worked for him for a while now, right?” Lena asks, “I consider myself observant, but I don’t know what goes on behind closed doors.”

“I guess not.”

Lena nods a few times, eyes still locked on Kara’s. Kara can preach confidence and pretend she’s all un-faltering and headstrong, but she can’t help but glance away every other minute.  _ Sheesh,  _ she thinks to herself,  _ go figure it’s a woman that throws me off my game. _

“How did you meet? You and Max,” Lena asks, looking at Kara like she knows something. Kara is fairly certain she couldn’t  _ possibly  _ know that. Right?

(It’s getting impossible to tell, honestly.)

“My sister introduced us,” Kara lies.

She sees that look of interest brighten a bit, “Oh? How?”

“She was…” Kara pulls together a few thoughts quickly, “investigating some criminal activity happening in his facility. It was pretty standard. Boring.”

“M- _ hmm, _ ” Lena nods, “Your sister’s a detective?”

“FBI, actually.”

Lena’s brows raise at that, “Well, regardless, doesn’t really seem like a bring-your-sister-to-work type of job. So how did you  _ really  _ meet?”

How does she  _ do  _ that? Kara tries not to let the shock register on her face as she gives in, “He… found me.”

Kara may not be able to read her most of the time, but she can tell that that information interests her a great deal. Kara isn’t sure yet whether or not it’s a good thing that Lena Luthor is so interested in her. And,  _ well,  _ it seems she’s more interested in Max Lord than anything else. The most she knows about Kara herself is that she’s an escort, she doesn’t drink, and she has a sister.  _ And  _ she likes money. That’s about it.

“How odd,” Lena says, “Was the investigation part true?”

“I mean, yeah…” Kara shrugs, “It was some drama with an ex-employee, as far as I know. Threatening to use some technology for some…  _ bad  _ things,” Kara grabs her water and takes a long sip. Her foot twitches. Every time she thinks about it, she thinks about how  _ badly  _ she’d wanted to be the one to report that story when she first heard about it from Alex. Even to this day, she still gets these urges… even  _ eight  _ years later… 

“So he found you  _ after  _ he met your sister?” Lena leans forward, “Do you look alike, or something?”

_ Shit. Shit. How did she do that? _

Kara tries to laugh it off, “Pff, what?” 

“Do you?”

“I mean,  _ she’s  _ a brunette,” Kara says, gesturing to her own blonde hair, “So, no. Not really.”  _ And I’m adopted,  _ she thinks but doesn’t say. Lena Luthor doesn’t need to know she’s an orphan. 

“Hm,” Lena folds her hands on the table. She looks like she’s in the middle of solving a puzzle and enjoying the  _ hell  _ out of it, even though Kara is finding herself to be extremely uncomfortable with  _ just how smart  _ this woman is. “You’re the only escort Max Lord has ever hired. He wants to get to your sister, I take it?”

“Uh…” 

“She’s not interested, is she? But Max thinks there’s hope, so he’s clinging to you and you’re letting him. For the money. Am I wrong?”

“Uh, well…” Kara reaches up to scratch the back of her neck, her face straining like she just ate something sour and she’s trying to fight it. She clears her throat, “I don’t--I don’t see why you’re so focused on this.”

“I told you last night. I’m merely curious,” Lena shrugs, sitting back and dropping her shoulders. Her expression shifts slowly, then all at once. She feigns boredom, but Kara isn’t stupid. Lena may be extremely perceptive, but Kara is a pretty good judge of character.

Kara narrows her eyes, “And I told  _ you  _ last night, I know you’re after something of his. And while I’m not exactly interested in stepping between it, I really just want to know why you’re interested in  _ me.  _ I mean, you figured it out yourself.  _ I’m  _ not even the one Max wants. So why bother with this?” Kara gestures between them.

Lena stares at her. Kara stares right back, feeling a little more confident as she looks at the blank expression on Lena’s face. That  _ has  _ to mean she’s getting somewhere, right? If she knew the answer to her own question, maybe… 

Lena settles her hands in her lap, “I can’t be negotiating with Max Lord  _ and  _ be interested in you?” 

“You’ve hardly asked me anything about myself,” Kara says simply, “You’ve only asked me about Max. I play these games too, Lena, and it takes one to know one, so… I  _ know  _ there’s more to it.”

“I know a lot about you.”

“Like what?”

“Like that you used to work at one of the companies I own. Catco, right?”  _ Oh. Well, that’s not what I was expecting.  _ This time, Kara can’t hide the surprise on her face. Lena smiles, “James Olsen told me  _ all  _ about how he was heartbroken when you quit. He said you had the makings of a great reporter.”

“That was…”

“Eight years ago, I know,” Lena nods, “He  _ still  _ talks about it. Imagine my surprise though, all that time ago, when I saw you at a party with one of the men I was about to buy out. And imagine my surprise when I realized  _ just  _ what you were doing there with him. I’ve always wondered what made you quit your job as a reporter to do this instead.”

“It’s not as interesting as reporting was,” Kara admits.

“So what was it that drew you away?”

Kara tilts her head, breathing in deeply and letting it out slowly. She shrugs, saying vaguely, “The money wasn’t as good.”

“Is money worth it if it made you sad to quit?” Lena asks. Kara realizes she’s let her expression slip, and the usual sadness that overwhelms her when she remembers just how fucked she is, just how  _ stuck  _ she’ll be from this point on, passes over her face. How do you get hired for literally  _ anything  _ else after being in an occupation that ninety percent of the population frowns upon? 

“It was,” Kara says quietly.

Lena’s face shifts away from that of its normal cool look, and she actually looks vaguely…  _ upset  _ to see Kara like this, with sadness so obvious in her eyes, despite her effort to take control and hide it once more. Kara doesn’t regret her decision. It was necessary at the time. For Alex. And herself, but… mostly Alex. 

But  _ god,  _ does she miss it.

Lena doesn’t press on the subject any further. Kara stretches her neck and straightens her back, trying her best to shake away her negative emotions. She forces a smirk, “You know a little more than I thought you did, I’ll give you that.”

Lena glances down, her own expression shifting into one of amusement, “Does that mean I get a pass on my curiosity?” 

“For now,” Kara nods firmly. Lena lets out a breathy chuckle.

Lena drops the subject of Max for the rest of dinner. She actually starts asking Kara more about herself. Kara tries not to think too hard about how she isn’t exactly sure Lena  _ would  _ be asking her about herself if she hadn’t brought it up. It was clear to Kara that Lena truly is interested in her, but she still has a gut feeling that Lena has something else planned. Some  _ other  _ reason to pay her for her services.

Somehow, they get on the subject of LCorp. Kara asks a question about her business, Lena answers, and then her mind begins spiraling with the lists of questions she’s always had lingering ever since Lena became the CEO of the company. 

“I find it very curious, how you came into possession of LCorp,” Kara begins, “Your brother didn’t strike me as the type to just ‘step down.’”

The smile on Lena’s face fades slowly. Just before, she had looked proud to be talking about LCorp. She’d looked happy. Kara could tell she really values her business and the work they do. She could tell Lena values her employees, and is very grateful for all of the opportunities she’s been gifted. Now, she looks… guilty.

Lena blinks, and Kara can see a bit of watery redness forming in them. She glances away, breathes in, and then clenches her jaw, “Lex wanted something different out of life.”

“I take it that subject is off-limits for now,” Kara says, “I’m sorry I brought it up.”

“There isn’t any more to say on it,” Lena shrugs, a bit of that ice re-forming. Kara curses inwardly at herself. She gets that gut feeling again that Lena is withholding information. What more does she expect, though? They hardly know each other, and if something  _ other  _ than Lex stepping down and moving to the caribbean happened as it says in the tabloids,  _ why  _ would Lena tell her when they don’t trust one another?

Kara picks up her fork and pushes around a little carrot through the pile of sauce on her plate. She stabs it and clears her throat, “So, uh… we talked about what  _ I  _ did before  _ this, _ ” Kara gestures between them, indicating her current job. “But what about you? I read somewhere you were working in a lab?” 

Lena squints, “You must have had to do some deep digging to find out about that.”

“Not really. I used to be a reporter, you know,” Kara quirks a brow teasingly. That actually makes Lena smile a bit.

“...Yes, I worked in a lab. With a colleague of mine. We were trying to develop some technology to cure… well, to cure  _ everything, _ ” Lena sighs, “To eliminate the difficulties we’ll soon be facing with modern medicine. Things in the world are adapting to  _ our  _ adaptations.”

“Things fell through, though?”

“‘Things’ were pretty much on their way down when Lex stepped down and I had to move to National City to take over. It was a dead end,” Lena admits quietly. 

“Maybe you can pick it back up again. In the future,” Kara suggests, “You know, when you’re not too busy chasing after big company men.”

Lena glances up, appearing a mix of agitated and amused, “You’re not getting anything out of me.”

“It was worth a try, though,” Kara smiles.

Lena huffs out a light laugh, “Has anyone ever told you you’re a little too charming?”

“Hm,” Kara puffs her chest, proud of herself, “Finding it hard to resist me, Ms. Luthor?”

Lena gives her a look, “ _ No. _ ”

Kara can tell she doesn’t mean it. Not really, anyway.

The rest of dinner is a lot lighter, surprisingly. Kara manages to forget all about Max, and Alex, and whatever else is weighing on her mind. 

The paycheck at the end of the evening pushes Kara a little bit further from caring what it is exactly that Lena is after with her. It does, however, remind her that this is business. And if Kara knows one thing, it’s that Lena Luthor doesn’t have the same connection to her that Max does. She doesn’t know how much longer she’ll be able to get double what Max was paying from Lena. She needs to set up some kind of insurance. Something to make sure she can stay in Lena’s presence for a little longer without the fear of being fired.

And she thinks she’s got just the idea.

-

“Do you normally work through lunch?”

Lena looks up as Kara barges in, ignoring the assistant close at her tail trying to prevent her from entering. The assistant stops, wide-eyed and scared, right behind Kara at the door, giving Lena a  _ what do I do?  _ look. Kara glances between the assistant and Lena, holding a bag of takeout in one hand and a drink carrier with milkshakes in the other.

Lena stares at her like she isn’t quite sure what to say. Kara continues, stepping further into the office and assuming stunned silence isn’t a refusal at her entrance. “You know, some say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but I  _ firmly  _ believe that curly fries are the cure to all negativity.”

Lena lets out a breathy laugh and sets her pen down, looking up at her assistant, “Please mark down that Kara Danvers can be shown in whenever she pleases.”

The assistant looks at Kara nervously, then back to Lena, “Are you sure?”

“Yes. That will be all.” The assistant ducks her head and heads out of the room, closing the door behind her. Kara smirks cockily and takes a seat across from Lena at her desk. “You brought curly fries?”

“And milkshakes.  _ And  _ burgers,” Kara starts removing items from the bag and setting them in the vacant spots on Lena’s desk. “I brought vanilla and chocolate. I wasn’t sure what you would like, but I thought it  _ had  _ to be one of these flavors.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“Because you’re either in _ credibly  _ boring, or you’re up there with some of the most amazing people on this planet, including myself,” Kara says nonchalantly, shrugging. 

“So this is a test, then?” Lena’s hand starts to go for the drink carrier, hovering over both milkshakes. Kara smiles and leans back, crossing her arms and keeping her gaze on Lena. “No pressure.”

“Oh, there’s  _ lots  _ of pressure,” Kara teases, “This could make or break our working relationship, Ms. Luthor. Choose wisely.”

Lena  _ tsks  _ quietly and looks at the milkshakes. She goes for the chocolate, picking it up and setting it down in front of her. Kara lets out a victory  _ woop-woop  _ and picks up the vanilla and a fry, dipping it in and tossing it in her mouth. Lena laughs at her, “Congratulations, Lena. You passed.”

“Good. I wouldn’t want to disappoint you.”

“Hmm…” Kara settles in, glancing around Lena’s office. 

It’s about the same as Lena’s apartment. White and grey interior design, with almost no color. Kara had chosen a bright blue jumper today, though she somehow fits. White goes with everything, she supposes.

There are a few things around the room that give it a little flavor. A glass chessboard sits on a coffee table several feet behind them at a sitting area, the pieces appearing to be moved around as though someone was in the middle of a game. A group of shelves to Kara’s right are filled with random knick knacks, though most of them are either a  _ very  _ light pastel color or some variation of white and grey. Kara is fairly certain she sees a few high-tech materials designed by LCorp, most likely from preliminary phases in trial. The wall of windows behind Lena let in a  _ lot  _ of light, and cause a faint glow around Lena that leaves her looking quite stunning.

“Is there something you need, Kara?” Lena draws her back in, having pushed her laptop aside and beginning to indulge in her burger. She sets it down momentarily and brushes her hands off, picking up the milkshake and taking a sip.

Kara scoffs, “Am I not allowed to come and visit my most favorite client for lunch?”

Lena gives her a  _ look. _

“ _ Fine, _ ” Kara gives in a moment later, “I wanted to talk to you. About this arrangement.” Lena hums in acknowledgement, and Kara continues, “I’ll be completely honest, I  _ really  _ like the money. And you’re not the  _ worst  _ company. I was curious if we could set up a little… insurance. Say… three months of service to start for a lengthy fee?”

For a second, Kara thinks Lena actually looks bothered that Kara is here for business and not simply pleasure. But it’s gone faster than she can try to analyze it.

“...You’re a business woman like me, I’ll give you that,” Lena looks down momentarily before forcing a smile, “I’ll have a contract drafted. We’ll both sign it tonight. Does that sound good to you?”

“Sure does,” Kara nods, letting out a breath of relief. 

Lena purses her lips and nods.

“I’m gonna stay for lunch, though,” Kara says after a moment, “Why let it go to waste?”

Lena looks pleased to hear it. Kara watches as Lena hesitantly mimics Kara by dipping a fry into her milkshake. She looks genuinely surprised when she places it in her mouth that it actually tastes good. Kara has to force herself not to smile  _ too  _ wide as she thinks,  _ how cute. _

Kara will admit, when deciding whether or not she wanted to come here today, her mind kept drifting back to last night. She is not blind to the fact that she’s developing some kind of softness, in a different way than she did for Max. With Max, she found him  _ tolerable  _ and didn’t mind being around him. She could be nice when she wanted to be. With Lena, there have been moments where Kara thinks she sees something other people don’t get to be privy to, even though they just met. And… she kind of likes it.

But Kara is here for money. That’s what this  _ has  _ to be. So yes, maybe she wants a contract so she can stick around Lena for a little longer. And  _ yes,  _ the money is a large driving factor. But… for the first time, Kara feels a bit selfish going after the money.

“So tell me,” Kara shakes all thoughts from her head and tries to bring herself into the current moment. “Do you just own all of the best views in town?”

“I own this one by default, but sure. It isn’t bad,” Lena smiles.

“Says the billionaire CEO who could have anything she wants,” Kara observes.

“Within reason, of course.”

“Right,” Kara nods, “Of course.”

“...”

“...”

“...Kara?”

“Yes, Lena?”

“You  _ do  _ realize you don’t have to pretend to want to talk to me, right?” Lena leans forward, “It seems a little like you’re just picking at topics because you feel obligated now that you’re here.”

“Well, that’s simply not true,” Kara counters, “I have  _ plenty  _ of things I want to talk to you about.”

“Like…?”

“ _ Like… _ ” Kara drawls, racking her brain for literally anything, “Tell me… about your mother. You know a few things about me and about my sister, so. Seems like a fair trade.”

Lena’s brow twitches. It’s subtle, but Kara notices. “Very well.”

Even though she is maintaining eye contact, there’s a moment where Lena’s gaze seems to drift  _ through  _ Kara. She wonders what Lena is seeing that takes her somehow so far away from the spot they’re currently sitting in.

“My mother does work here, at LCorp. She started out working alongside me as my advisor when I first took over, seeing as she was on Lex’s original board. But now she’s taken a semi-permanent position as my CFO,” Lena says.

Kara waits a few solid seconds to see if Lena says anything more. When she doesn’t, her brows furrow, “How… deeply personal of a connection you must share.”

“Your sarcasm is noted,” Lena sighs. She gulps back a breath and continues, “My mother and I have never been the mushy mother-daughter types. Emotional displays are  _ not  _ how you earn love in my family, so…”

“I’m no expert, but you shouldn’t have to  _ earn  _ anything,” Kara says quietly.

“Families all adapt to different ways of living, Kara,” Lena declares, “I’m perfectly fine with the way my family shows love.”

Like many other things Lena has said, Kara gets the sense that that isn’t  _ completely  _ truthful.

“Okay,” Kara gives in, picking up a fry and holding it up, “If you say so.”


	3. it could be love

_ perched in the dark _

_ telling all the rich folks anything they wanna hear _

_ like it could be love _

_ I could be the way forward _

_ only if they pay for it _

_ you’re a bandit like me _

_ eyes full of stars _

_ hustling for the good life _

_ never thought I’d meet you here _

_ it could be love _

_ we could be the way forward _

_ and I know I’ll pay for it _

_ you’re a cowboy like me _

-

Kara is in the middle of yelling at a news report on Morgan Edge’s latest development when she hears a knock at her door. She pauses it, his stupid face frozen in a half-smirk. She sticks out her tongue and flips him off before trudging over to her door. Her fuzzy bearpaw slippers let her glide easily along the wooden floors. She presses her palms against the door and peers out, hoping for the pizza man.

She nearly gasps when she sees Lena Luthor out there instead.

She glances down at her pajamas and slippers. Her tank top at least provides a nice view of her cleavage and muscular frame, but the little dogs wearing party hats on her silky bottoms are probably a little child-like.  _ Not  _ that she has much of a choice, she can’t very well go and change and leave Lena alone in the hallway.

She sucks in a breath and opens the door, not allowing herself time to let her anxiety envelope her. 

Lena Luthor is just as beautiful as she had been this afternoon in her office. The biggest difference, Kara notes, is that she looks a little tired, no doubt from a long day of work.

Her eyes are immediately drawn downward. Kara prides herself on the way Lena’s eyes linger longest on her chest before moving on to Kara’s pajamas and slippers. Kara feels her face flush a bit. 

“Cute. Can I come in?”

Kara laughs nervously and opens the door wider, stepping back so Lena can come in. She watches Lena the way Lena must have watched her when she’d entered Lena’s apartment for the first time. Kara closes the door and moves back into the living room, dropping down onto her couch and bringing her feet up so she sits cross-legged. 

“I meant to text,” Lena says, coming to sit beside Kara, “But this was on my way home, and I figured you’d want to get this done as soon as possible.”

She pulls a yellow file out of her bag and offers it to Kara, who takes it and opens it up. Inside is a single slip of paper. Kara spends a few minutes reading it over carefully. It’s an outline for a contract. At the bottom there are two places for signatures, both with Lena and Kara’s names printed right below them. Lena has already signed her side.

“I didn’t know escorts do contracts.”

“Like I said, it’s just insurance,” Kara shrugs, grabbing the pen Lena offers over to her once she feels confident she isn’t getting screwed over by anything written here. She signs her name and closes it back up, setting it on the coffee table and leaning back.

“You like having me around then?” Lena says cockily, crossing her arms and smiling. 

Kara doesn’t answer. Instead, she picks up the remote and presses play once more, turning the volume down significantly so they can still hear each other. She settles back, “Wanna stay for pizza?”

Lena ends up staying. Kara is surprised when Lena eats three slices. Then again, not every rich woman is Cat Grant. Always raving about salads, and smoothies, and  _ no sugar  _ this and  _ minimal carbs  _ that. They joke about Morgan Edge for a solid half an hour. Kara learns a few things about Morgan from Lena. Mostly chatter between people of their ranking, but Lena supposes most of it must be true.

Kara isn’t wanting Lena to leave when they’re done eating. So she gets an idea.

“Can we walk somewhere?”

“You want to  _ walk? _ At this time of night?”

“Psh, please. There’s no need to be scared, Lena. I have a black belt,” Kara straightens. Lena looks like she doesn’t believe her, so Kara adds, “I’m dead serious! You can find pictures of me on the Midvale Community Karate Club’s website. From when I was seventeen.” Lena smiles in a way that tells Kara she’s giving in. “Yes!” Kara cheers, “Give me a minute to get changed.”

They’re outside within a few minutes. Kara smiles, satisfied, and begins walking in the direction of a store only a few blocks away. Lena follows beside her, “You grew up in Midvale, then?”

“No. I grew up here, actually. It wasn’t until I was thirteen that I moved to Midvale.”

“Why’s that? Parents wanted to move to suburbia?” 

Kara opens her mouth, but nothing comes out immediately. Her mind flashes to all of the times Lena has said things and she’s simply  _ sensed  _ she wasn’t being honest. Perhaps, the  _ reason  _ she isn’t so forthcoming is because Kara has been trying to be as vague as possible when it comes to questions about herself, too. Perhaps, the way to crack Lena Luthor is to be a little more honest.

She sighs, “No, uh… they passed. My adoptive family lives in Midvale.”

Kara is sure Lena’s head has never turned faster, “Oh. I’m so sorry.”

Kara smiles sadly and stares ahead, “It was a long time ago.”

“Yeah, but. It’ll always hurt,” Lena says quietly. So quietly and so full of understanding that Kara turns to look at her. Lena is watching her in a way that makes her feel less alone. “I lost my dad when I was very little,” She says in response to the look Kara gives her.

_ Hm,  _ Kara thinks,  _ See? Honesty… _

It’s funny. Kara has never had to work this hard to build some kind of connection with a client. Usually she can forge something with dishonesty fairly quickly. Men are usually very forthcoming about their lives, so it isn’t hard to stir up conversation. Anything that makes them angry, really, is fair game and comes up pretty quickly. But with Lena, it’s like Kara has to relearn every tactic she’s developed for her job.

She spots the end goal of their walk and points ahead, “We’re here.”

Lena laughs, but it sounds partly like a scoff, “ _ Mike’s? _ ”

“Shh, don’t judge just yet,” Kara grabs Lena’s hand without a second thought and pulls her inside. The bell above the door signals their entrance, and a dashing young guy in a bowling shirt with the name  _ Mike  _ sewn in over the chest pops up from behind the store’s counter.

“Kara! What’s up?” He greets, “It’s been a while.”

“ _ Actually,  _ I was here yesterday. And the day before that.  _ You  _ weren’t, though.”

“ _ Psh,  _ I’m the boss. I can take off whenever I want.”

Kara begins roaming the aisles. They’re just short enough that she can still look over at Mike and hold a conversation. Lena follows closely behind her, looking around at everything with interest. It’s a fairly regular convenience store, with rows upon rows of goodies and random things you might need in everyday life. The one thing that sets this place apart, though, is the homemade food Mike makes,  _ and  _ the--

“Slushies,” Kara whispers happily as she approaches the machine, grabbing two cups and filling hers with cherry. “Tell me, Lena Luthor, are you a blue raspberry, cherry, or strawberry type of gal?”

Lena stops beside her, crossing her arms over her chest and looking at all of the options seriously. “Is it too much to ask for a mix of blue raspberry and cherry?”

Kara’s eyes widen teasingly, “Adventurous. I like it.” 

Kara finishes up and pops lids on both, handing Lena’s over to her. She stops by the counter to pay Mike, sharing a bit of small talk before she and Lena head back out onto the street. They walk a few feet beyond Mike’s shop, the buildings splitting off into a cute little park, currently completely vacant. Kara guides Lena over to the swing set and takes a seat on one of the swings. Lena looks between it and Kara hesitantly before she gives in, sitting down. Kara swings herself slightly as she sips away at her slushie.

“Do you normally take people like me for slushies in the park?” Lena asks a little incredulously. Kara feels fairly certain Lena has never stepped inside a convenience store before. Or a park. Or anything that’s fun and has cheap, delicious, sugary snacks.

“‘People like you,’” Kara mocks, avoiding the main question, “You mean clients?”

“Yes, clients. Do you?”

Kara purses her lips and looks over at Lena. Her eyes look  _ very  _ green in the moon and city light. Kara picks her straw up and swirls her drink around, “Only the quiet, hard-to-crack ones.”

Lena hums, “So just me, then?”

Kara  _ tsks,  _ “If you want to get technical, yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I wanted a slushie. Does there have to be another reason?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a slushie, to be completely honest,” Lena looks at hers as though she’s trying to analyze it in her scientific Luthor way. “They’re okay.”

“ _ Um, _ ” Kara starts to get offended, “They’re the best.”

Lena laughs, “Can we head back now?”

Kara sighs dramatically, “If you insist. But let me finish my slushie, first.”

Later, once Kara is back in her pajamas, she finds herself sprawled on the couch, watching a random movie and wanting to text Lena. She wants to talk to her more. She wants to know what she’s doing right now. She wishes Lena had asked her to come over and stay the night again.

Kara likes their back-and-forth. She sees a lot of similarities between them. She’s curious about her. 

Lena smells great, she’s hot as fuck, and she’s a genius. It’s not really a surprise to Kara that she’s a  _ little  _ more interested than she thought she’d be. Usually the money blends together and she forgets about the people she works for. She forgets about their mindless conversations. All she sees is the dollar signs. But with Lena, she’s analyzing everything. She’s checking her phone, hoping to see a text. She’s actually  _ attracted  _ to her.

She isn’t sure if she likes it or not.

Only one way to find out, right?

-

After a few more days of Kara working for Lena, Max finally breaks his radio silence and calls her. She’s sitting in Lena’s living room and the two of them are playing chess when it happens. Kara had left her phone out on the table between them face up. She sees his name with the barfing emoji. Lena looks amused when she glances down and sees it. Kara doesn’t even reach for it, but then Lena sits back, “Answer it.”

Kara gives Lena an incredulous look. Part of the agreement that Kara had  _ just  _ signed a few nights ago was that she wouldn’t work for anyone else during their ‘partnership.’ So why would she want Kara to answer a call from a past client? Lena just nods to the phone in response.

Kara grumbles something unintelligible and picks up the phone, staring at it for only a moment before swiping to accept. She brings the phone up to her ear, “Yes, Maxwell?”

“Ms. Danvers. I’ll admit at first it was a little amusing seeing you prancing around with Lena Luthor,” Comes Max’s arrogant, all-knowing tone. “But this is getting ridiculous. You and I  _ both  _ know you’re trying to play her.”

“And if I am?” Kara asks, one brow raising in annoyance. She leans back and crosses one leg over. Lena watches her intently, though Kara knows she can’t hear what’s happening on the other end. 

“Ms. Luthor isn’t going to want your attention forever. You’re lucky  _ I  _ have wanted you to work for me for so long,” He states. Kara scoffs, and Lena narrows her eyes. “So why don’t you just save us both the trouble and come out with me and some colleagues tonight? I’ll pay you double what I usually do, if that’s what it takes.”

“Listen here,  _ asshole, _ ” Kara stresses, leaning forward and placing a hand on her knee, glaring intently at the fireplace across the room. “I don’t need you  _ or  _ Lena Luthor. I have a  _ whole  _ list of clientele who are  _ eager  _ for some time with me.  _ You  _ are lucky I have stuck around  _ you  _ for so long,  _ Mr. Lord.  _ And you really need to quit this pathetic little puppy dog act with my sister, because it’s not cute anymore. It’s just. Creepy.”

Kara can see the dumb little shocked look on his face. Can see his  _ squinty  _ little eyes glowing with anger. She can see him crossing his arms in her mind, growing more and more frustrated with her words. And all it does is fuel her.

“Don’t call me again,” Kara finalizes, pulling the phone away and pressing the  _ end call  _ button just as he begins to raise his voice. She tosses her phone back down onto the glass and makes her next move, plopping back against the couch with an angry sigh, “You happy, Lena?”

Lena had looked  _ quite  _ enthused and proud before Kara turned her anger onto her. Now she just looks… apologetic? 

“Only if you are, Kara,” Lena takes a moment to assess the board before she moves a knight up to take Kara’s rook. “But that was pretty badass, regardless.”

“Yeah, well. You should’ve heard what he said about you,” Kara mumbles it so quietly that Lena leans a little closer, her expression telling Kara she didn’t quite catch it. Kara clears her throat and instead says, “You should’ve heard what he said about me.”

“I’m sorry I made you answer,” Lena says honestly, “Don’t worry about Max Lord bothering you. He’s nowhere near my level, so.”

Kara tilts her head a bit. Lena has been doing that a little more. Being kind, and more understanding of Kara’s feelings. Being less cold. It’s only been six days, but it’s been noticeable. Kara suspects she isn’t the only one with a growing softness.

It’s weird. It makes some kind of fight or flight response twist up inside of her. Kara doesn’t like attachments. She has her sister and her adoptive mother, and that’s all she needs. That’s all she  _ wants. _

_ Isn’t it? _

-

“I read a few of the articles you wrote,” Lena says one afternoon. They’re sitting together in Lena’s penthouse on the floor of her living room on either side of the glass coffee table. Kara is helping Lena make adjustments to her AI assistant, Hope, whom she tells Kara she’s been programming for just over a year. Kara’s form of ‘helping,’ though, is just handing over things Lena needs every now and then. Kara doesn’t mind; she finds it kind of fascinating. 

Kara stops what she’s doing to look up, taken a bit off guard, “...Did you?”

“I see why James was so upset to have lost you,” Lena nods.

“He’s got plenty of wonderful reporters,” Kara dismisses. “But it’s cute that you read them.”

Lena gets quiet. Kara holds a grouping of wires to the side as Lena reaches in to adjust something with one of the smallest tools Kara has ever seen. She purses her lips, and Kara sees the way she’s trying to hold back. She’s never experienced judgement from Lena about what she’s chosen to do with her life, but she can still see that same look Alex gets on her face when she’s about to bring up Catco. Lena can see she was happier there, Kara hasn’t done much to hide that. She just hopes Lena will leave it alone.

It’s getting harder for Kara to deny her reality. It was easy at first, just after she’d left Catco, to pretend that everything she was doing was temporary. But the bigger her name became, the more  _ nasty  _ looks she received, the more she realized she would never be taken seriously again. Lena has been the only exception to that, it seems. She hasn’t treated her as less-than so far.

Lena Luthor, it seems, has a magnetic force floating around her, occasionally getting stronger and stronger the more Lena reveals little pieces of herself to Kara. The more Lena softens towards her. And the more Kara’s heart softens, the more difficult it is to ignore the possibility of what Max said being true.  _ Ms. Luthor isn’t going to want your attention forever,  _ he had said.

All those words had done is remind her she still isn’t entirely sure what Lena wants from her. And  _ now,  _ she’s stuck in this arrangement for a minimum of three months. Which is admittedly a  _ long  _ time, and if Kara is starting to feel…  _ feelings  _ now, how is it going to feel at the end of their contract if Lena decides to split?

This possibility hasn’t kept Kara away, though. Kara’s hesitations usually do a pretty good job of keeping her on track, but with Lena it’s all so different. She expresses interest in Kara in a way no one has before. Lena now knows Kara’s favorite movie is  _ Hercules,  _ and Kara knows Lena plays a ridiculous amount of sudoku and has an entire drawer in her desk at LCorp dedicated to sudoku books. Lena knows Kara listens to NSYNC, and Kara knows Lena is horrified of spiders.

It’s been nice, even despite Kara’s fears. They get dinner most nights. Kara comes by Lena’s office during the day. It’s been almost two weeks, and while with Max she’d been getting bored, she hasn’t felt that way at  _ all  _ with Lena.

It’s become incredibly obvious to Kara just how similar they are. Over the past two weeks, Lena has told her a few stories about the men she’s bought from. And although they’ve swindled men in  _ very  _ different ways, they’ve both managed to take a  _ lot  _ more than they’ve had to give. Kara isn’t sure what that says about herself, or about Lena, but it’s nice to be around someone who doesn’t judge her for it the way Alex does.

Which brings Kara back full circle in her thoughts. Just because Lena doesn’t judge Kara for being an escort, doesn’t mean she hasn’t expressed that same disbelief that Kara fell away from something she so clearly loves. She looks up at Lena, her hands fiddling with a small box of screws. She picks a few up and drops them back in continuously. Lena notices, green eyes looking directly into Kara’s blues.

“I forgot what this was like,” Kara says after a while, deciding against going any further in the conversation. She isn’t ready to talk about just  _ why  _ she quit and changed professions yet. “To be this sort of intimate with someone.”

“...Me too.”

-

Every time Kara is with Lena, Kara  _ nearly  _ forgets that this is an arrangement. Then Lena pays her and she goes home.

-

The moment Kara starts to forget a few of her anxieties and think that  _ maybe  _ there could be something between them is one she’ll never forget.

They’re sitting together at Lena’s kitchen island eating dinner. Lena had switched on the news some time ago to keep in the background. Kara hadn’t been paying much attention, but upon hearing Lena’s last name, she tunes in and glances up. So does Lena.

It’s a piece speculating where Lex Luthor is now, and what he’s been up to. It praises Lena for the work she’s accomplished since his absence, and wonders if perhaps he’d simply decided he didn’t have quite the image for the company that Lena did. Kara hums in acknowledgement as it comes to a close, “Is your brother as happy and fulfilled as those people think he is?”

Lena looks up at Kara with a look Kara has noticed a few times now. It’s a nervous, unsure look, like Lena is on the brink of telling Kara something. She usually decides against it, but today there is a little extra something there. Lena sighs, “No, he’s uh… He’s not in any paradise, Kara.”

Kara remembers the first time they’d had a conversation about Lex and she says seriously, “We can talk about something stupid like the weather or this dog video I saw this morning to get your mind off of it, if you want?”

“No, no… It’s not so scary talking about Lex. Not with you, anyway. Not like I thought it’d be,” Lena starts, “I’ll admit, before when you asked about him I was short and dishonest. He’s a subject I’ve learned to avoid. But… I see now that maybe you’re worth a little extra trust.”

There’s that word. The one Kara has been dancing around since she started feeling closer to Lena.  _ Trust. _

“You don’t owe me any trust.”

“I want to give it to you.”

Kara’s heart jumps at the prospect.

Lena looks into Kara’s eyes, and when she sees nothing but support, she begins to crack, “Lex isn’t on some beach with all of the women he’s ever wanted. He’s not working on any secrets projects, or… or…” 

Kara helps her out, “Or living in a bunker preparing for apocalypse?” 

That brings a small smile to Lena’s face, temporarily masking the pain flashing through her eyes, “ _ No.  _ He’s not doing that either.”

“Darn. And to think, I’m worming my way into your life. Now what am I gonna do when we reach impending doom?” 

“You’re silly,” Lena laughs and shoves Kara’s shoulder lightly, “No, but, uh… he’s a genius, of course. One of the smartest people I’ve ever known. He taught me  _ so much, _ ” She says, sounding proud of her relationship with her brother. Kara can tell she loves him deeply, the way Kara loves Alex and the way Alex loves her. “But there was a side of him that not everyone got to see. Our mother… she put a lot of pressure on him when he was growing up.

“Not to say I never saw her rage, or felt any pressure. But he got the brute of it. A lot more was expected of him than there was of me. He was five years into growing LCorp and he was doing amazing, but it started to tear away at his psyche. I watched him fade away from the brother I knew. He turned into this… broken, manipulative,  _ scary  _ person.”

Lena is quiet for a moment. Kara reaches forward, placing a hand over Lena’s and asking softly, “What happened?”

“...He smashed a window in his office and nearly killed one of the board members,” Lena puffs out after taking a deep breath, her gaze moving upward. “A week later, after  _ multiple  _ psychiatric examinations, he was diagnosed with a  _ long,  _ long list of things. And now, nearly ten years later, he’s sitting in a psychiatric hospital, and he’s hardly made any progress. My mother was quick to cover everything up. His last wish was for me to take his place as CEO of LCorp.”

Kara isn’t sure what to say. When Lena’s done, she lets out a long sigh, like a huge weight has just been lifted off her chest. Kara gets a feeling Lena has never said any of that out loud. Lena adjusts her shirt and picks herself up, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to go into so much detail.”

“No,” Kara is quick to say, “You don’t have to apologize.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re easy to talk to? It’s a little frightening,” Lena says quietly. 

Kara just smiles. “Do you visit him at all? Lex?”

“I try to see him monthly. He always has a chess board set up for us,” Lena smiles fondly, staring off into the distance momentarily. 

“You have hope he’ll get better,” Kara observes.

“He’s making progress,” Lena nods quickly, “Slowly. But still, it’s there…” She pauses for a moment, then raises a brow, “See what I mean?”

“I must have one of those faces,” Kara shrugs. Lena smiles and shakes her head.


	4. before i locked it down

_ and the skeletons in both our closets _

_ plotted hard to fuck this up _

_ and the old men that I’ve swindled _

_ really did believe I was the one _

_ and the ladies lunching have their stories about _

_ when you passed through town _

_ but that was all before I locked it down _

-

When Kara was thirteen, she lost her parents in a fire. Her building and the one neighboring it went down. Kara was in Midvale on a school trip when it happened. That day she lost everything.

The anniversary hits her like a truck almost a week later. She’d seen the little heart drawn on the day in her calendar when she’d cross off the days as they passed, and although it had been expected and anticipated, she doesn’t feel the full weight of it until she’s actually seated on the grass in front of their graves, Alex sitting closely beside her.

She shifts so that her head rests on Alex’s shoulder. She feels Alex’s arm wrap around her back. She comes with Kara every year, and Kara is grateful.

She’d almost thought it would be easier this year. Maybe it was the distraction of Lena. Maybe it was because it’s been twenty years. But she was so, so wrong. And she feels so,  _ so  _ guilty for wishing it  _ had  _ been easier. 

She has pictures of them, so she isn’t afraid of forgetting what they looked like. But the one thing she  _ had  _ worried about was forgetting what they  _ sounded  _ like. What they  _ felt  _ like. But she remembers the way their love was like a warm blanket. She remembers all the nights her mother held her until she fell asleep. She remembers the way it felt to be scooped up by her father. She still remembers their voices. She hears them sometimes when she sleeps, or when she’s about to make a big decision. 

She isn’t sure that they’d be proud of her. The thought has a tendency of hitting her suddenly.

She wipes away a tear.

Kara startles when her phone buzzes on the grass between them. She feels Alex tilt her head, and her own eyes flick down to see who it is. She sees Lena’s name just before the screen goes dark again. Kara shoves the phone away and snuggles a little tighter into Alex’s shoulder. She lets out a muffled groan.

“What’s wrong?” Alex asks quietly. 

Where does Kara even begin to answer that question? Should she bring up her prior thoughts about her parents? Should she just talk about how she finds Lena beautiful and how she’s become attached to her? Should she ignore it?

She sighs, “I’ve been struggling with some…  _ feelings  _ for Lena.”

“Yeah, I, uh,” Kara can hear in Alex’s voice that she’s hesitant to talk about this in front of Kara’s parent’s graves. It almost makes Kara smile a bit. “I thought it was a little weird that you’ve actually been staying the night with her. That’s not…  _ usually  _ something you do.”

“There hasn’t been any  _ funny business, _ ” Kara assures. She feels Alex sigh in relief. “But… I just keep finding things about Lena that I like, and that’s so  _ weird.  _ I don’t know what it all means.”

“I  _ think…  _ it means you like her.  _ Like  _ like.”

Kara groans again and leans her head back. She looks between her parent’s graves, eyes still watery. She tries to fight it, but she loses, and suddenly everything comes spilling out of her, including more tears.

“Alex, whenever I think about furthering a relationship with her, I think about them. I think about you. I think about  _ all my baggage.  _ I think about how  _ uncomfortable  _ it is to admit to someone that you’re secretly fucked up inside. I think about how my parents would  _ not  _ be proud of the person I’ve become.”

Alex makes a face, “Kara, that’s not--”

Kara cuts her off, “No. No, Alex. It  _ is  _ true. My mother was a District Court judge. My father was a scientist. I fucking  _ sell myself  _ to people, Alex.”

“You sell your  _ time.  _ It’s different.”

“You say that like you don’t judge me for it. How many times have you brought up how I could be doing something better with my life?” Kara says. It sounds angrier than she intends, but she can’t stop it. She’s overwhelmed. She feels like throwing something. Punching something. But instead she just wraps her arms tighter around her legs and places her head between her knees.

“ _ That  _ is only because I see how miserable you are and it  _ kills  _ me to see you like that. It isn’t because I’m  _ ashamed  _ of what you do. If anyone is ashamed or disappointed it’s  _ you,  _ Kara.”

Kara looks at Alex for a long time. 

“You’re right. You’re right, I am.”

They don’t talk about it, but Kara can feel that both of their minds slip into the same train of thought. They think about how Kara never intended to become an escort. How she probably never would have met Max Lord, or any of the other pricks who had hired her the past eight years. Hell, she might not have met Lena Luthor.

If only Alex hadn’t gotten sick. If only they hadn’t been knee-deep in medical bills neither of them could afford. If only Kara wasn’t so horrified of losing Alex that she’d needed to find something that could both pay the bills,  _ and  _ leave her flexible so she could go to doctor’s appointments, and stay by her side when it got so bad she couldn’t leave the hospital… 

But they never talk about it. They  _ can’t.  _

“I’m sorry,” Alex whispers after a while. Kara reaches up and wipes away  _ more  _ tears.

“Don’t you  _ dare  _ apologize.”

“And don’t  _ you  _ dare think that you are any less than you were before any of this.”

_ I’m trying. _

-

Kara doesn’t respond to Lena’s text. 

-

Kara has been spending the past five minutes inspecting the potted plant outside Lena’s door closely. This one is  _ real,  _ which surprises Kara. Apparently Lena Luthor  _ does  _ have real plants. Unless this plant belongs to the building. Maybe the building’s staff waters it. It looks like it’s going to start budding very soon. 

_ What am I doing?  _

Kara clears her throat and looks up at Lena’s door. She should just do it, right? Just knock. 

One hand clenches the strap to her purse and the other hangs low, her knuckles turning white with how hard she’s squeezing her fist shut. She lifts her chin a bit. Why is she afraid? Because she didn’t text Lena back? Max always got upset when she didn’t answer, but Lena isn’t Max.

_ Lena isn’t Max. Lena isn’t Max. Lena is Lena. _

_ Lena is Lena. Lena is wonderful.  _

Kara knocks.

She hears footsteps approaching followed by the sound of the peephole cover being slid out of place. Kara gives an awkward smile and salute. She swears she hears Lena chuckle. 

The first thing Kara notices when Lena opens the door is that Lena doesn’t look upset or mad. She actually just looks relieved, like she was afraid Kara was about to breach the terms of their agreement, or like she’d moved on despite  _ just  _ having spent an entire afternoon with Lena discussing the logistics of time travel.

Lena Luthor is beautiful in a lot of ways, but right now all Kara can focus on is how gentle she looks. Normally, she looks powerful and unbreakable, among other things. She holds herself high and with purpose. And while those things aren’t  _ gone,  _ Kara notices that she has a soft look about her. Like she’d just been curled up under a blanket reading a book. Like seeing Kara standing in front of her has just brought her some kind of happiness. 

“I’m sorry,” Kara starts as she steps inside. She drops her bag by the door. “I meant to respond, but yesterday was… I’m just sorry.”

Lena grabs Kara’s hand and pulls her along, over towards the kitchen. Kara watches Lena grab two glasses from the cabinet and fill them with water. She slides one over to Kara and leans her elbows down on the counter. She looks at Kara as she takes a sip, “It’s alright.”

Kara pulls out one of the stools and takes a seat. She pushes the glass along with her and distracts herself watching the water shift and settle in the cup. She’s sure she’s never sounded smaller as she says, “I want to talk to you about something.”

“Sure. Hey?” Kara glances up, seeing Lena looking at her with worry. “I’m listening. Whatever you have to say, it’s okay.”

_ Just say it. Just say it. It’s okay…  _

“I’ve been having a difficult time trying to keep my feelings… professional,” Kara sees the way Lena’s brows draw together. They were already pretty stressed, seeing as she’s been watching Kara like she might die right on the spot, but they somehow get  _ closer,  _ laced not just with worry but with confusion. Kara tries again, “I’m not interested in this simply being a business deal anymore. I don’t want money.”

That seems to make it click for Lena. 

“Is this… why you didn’t text me the other day?”

“That’s part of it, yes,” Kara lets out a breath she didn’t realize had been lodged in her throat. Her heart feels like it’s trying to tear through her ribs and muscle to escape. 

“What’s the other part?” Lena asks carefully, sensing Kara’s nervousness. 

Kara hesitates. But then she remembers something: Lena has already opened her heart. She thinks back to when Lena told her about Lex. She thinks about the guts that must have taken. 

“It was… the anniversary of my parent’s death,” Kara reveals. 

She watches Lena’s face shift into that of understanding. There’s a sadness that passes across Lena’s face, and Kara thinks that right in this moment Lena’s eyes look like a calm, endless river, leading Kara home. 

“I guess it’s just hard to pay attention to much else,” Kara shrugs after a beat, “It almost feels wrong to think about anything else. Maybe that’s weird, I don’t know…” 

“It’s not,” Lena says quickly. “I didn’t ask before, when you first told me about them, but… what were they like?” 

Kara smiles and grips the glass in her hands, kicking her foot a bit and drifting her gaze to the left, her eyes glazing over as her thoughts wander. She sees their faces as she talks, “They were…  _ my  _ heroes. I wanted to be just like them, which I know sounds a little cliche, but… but… they really loved me, you know? You don’t forget what that kind of love feels like. But you know when it’s not there anymore.”

Lena steps around the counter and sits in the stool beside Kara’s. She pulls one of Kara’s hands away from her glass and holds it, squeezing it gently between hers. Kara looks down at it. For some reason, the gesture only makes her want to cry more.

“When I got adopted by the Danvers family, Alex was the first person to show me that kind of love again,” Kara says, “I think… before I met her I was trying so hard to forget it. I thought all I was ever going to feel when I thought about them was pain from then on out. But she made me realize I shouldn’t let the pain taint their memory. She kind of reminds me of them sometimes, too. Oddly she’s kind of like if you combined both of them into one person. She’s all for serving justice  _ and  _ knows her way around a microscope.” 

“I know what you mean,” Lena says, “When I lost my dad, I thought he was just sort of gone forever. But I see parts of him in Lex, and it’s comforting.”

Kara looks up, then. 

“I’m sorry,” She says after a moment, when Lena’s eyes widen the longer Kara looks at her like she’s got two heads. “I just… can’t believe we’re having this conversation.”

“Why’s that?”

_ Well, for starters,  _ Kara thinks,  _ my  _ very  _ last thought when we met was ‘I’m going to start falling for this woman.’  _

Kara doesn’t say that, though.

“I thought you were going to be like the rest of them,” Kara admits quietly.

“Pompous and self-centered?”

Kara laughs, “No. Well, yes. But I just… thought you might treat me like…” Kara doesn’t have the heart or the voice to say it. Her throat closes up whenever she tries, so instead she says, “I thought the reason you approached me was because you thought I’d throw myself at the biggest dollar sign.”

Lena purses her lips, “I’ll admit, I had ulterior motives when we first met. But I was never looking to treat you like any less of a human being.” 

“Am I ever gonna get to hear about those ulterior motives?”

Lena tilts her head down and looks into Kara’s eyes, her thumb brushing over Kara’s knuckles, “Not today. You look like someone who could really use some hot chocolate and a movie.”

Kara’s eyes soften, “How did you know?”

-

Lena never commented on Kara’s confession.

Kara realized this when she went home the night before, after she and Lena shared hot chocolate and cuddled under a blanket on Lena’s sofa watching  _ 10 Things I Hate About You.  _ Their conversation had taken a turn, and the subject was just sort of… dropped.

Kara would be lying if she said it hasn’t been stressing her out.

She thinks about it all day. She analyzes every piece of their conversation, but the only clues to how Lena might possibly feel about it are all physical, and Kara isn’t sure she can go solely off of that. Not if she wants to keep a grasp on her sanity.

Lena gets home late. Kara is already there when she arrives, playing chess with herself and trying her best not to immediately jump up and shout  _ what are we?! _

Lena gets changed and joins her, a glass of wine already in hand. She takes over for the white pieces. They get about fifteen minutes in when Kara can’t take it anymore.

“You never really said anything about what I told you last night,” She says shyly. Lena stops, looking at Kara fondly.

“I didn’t pay you, did I?”

It takes Kara a second to register Lena’s words. She thinks it’s  _ so  _ Lena, to say something like that in response. Like she’s always challenging Kara to read between lines, and piece things together herself. 

She pushes herself up off the carpet and goes to sit beside Lena on the couch. She feels a little frantic, if she’s being honest. Like if she doesn’t grab onto Lena  _ right  _ now, she’s going to suddenly change her mind. She brings Lena’s hands into her lap and holds them there securely. 

Kara takes a breath, “You mean that?”

“Kara, darling,” Lena brings one of her hands out, bringing it up and brushing strands of Kara’s hair out of her face. She cups Kara’s cheek, smoothing her thumb over it. Kara can’t help but tilt her head into Lena’s touch. “I don’t like to waste time. If I wasn’t looking to further our relationship, I would be upfront about that.”

Kara isn’t sure what comes over her. Lena is just looking at her like she’s the most important thing to ever touch this earth, and Kara has been wondering what Lena tastes like for  _ weeks  _ now, so suddenly she’s leaning forward. Suddenly… she’s kissing Lena. Lena lets out a surprised but pleased sound, both hands immediately settling around Kara’s waist and pulling her closer. 

Kara brings a knee up and crosses over Lena’s lap, tilting her head down to continue kissing Lena. She feels Lena’s hands run up her sides as she does so. Kara grabs either side of Lena’s face carefully, sliding her hands back into Lena’s hair and tugging gently. “Can I touch you?” Kara whispers between kisses, sounding  _ immensely  _ out of breath.

Lena presses a hand into Kara’s back to bring her closer, “ _ Yes. _ ”

Kara doesn’t hesitate. She doesn’t want to waste time, either. She doesn’t want to waste time  _ ever  _ again. Not with Lena.

_ Never  _ with Lena.

Later that same evening, Kara rolls over in Lena’s bed, unapologetically naked. She watches Lena look up, reading glasses having slid down her nose as she reads something on her phone. A slow smile spreads onto her face the longer Kara stares, “What is it, darling?”

“I just… never thought I would meet someone like you,” Kara says. 

And it’s true. She had always been afraid that the rest of her life would be loveless. That she’d be conning people until she took her last breath. Looking into Lena’s eyes, it seems she feels the same way. They’re both cut from the same stone, it seems. They’d just been on opposite corners all along.

-

Kara feels like she’s in nothing short of paradise for the following week. 

Lena, it turns out, has a very secret soft side that she’s done a hell of a job keeping buried. The more nights they spend together, the more it begins to show. For instance, Lena has developed a habit of kissing Kara as much as possible. She kisses her in greeting, or when she passes her in the kitchen, or when Kara is speaking and she just can’t help herself. Lena also makes Kara breakfast, leaves her little notes in the mornings, and sends her flowers just because.

Part of Kara is nervous to let herself get used to it. Most of her life has been things being taken from her the second she’s comfortable. She was happy with her parents, then they passed. She was starting to feel confident in her job at Catco, then Alex got sick and they needed more money. And this, Kara fears, is starting to feel comfortable, too. 

So it’s no surprise when, a week into their relationship while they’re eating dinner, Lena looks up and says, “Maxwell Lord reached out to me.”

Kara glances up, having just set her water down. They’re sitting at Lena’s kitchen island, eating takeout from one of Kara’s favorite places: Noonan’s. She tilts her head and looks into Lena’s eyes, urging Lena to continue.

“He made me an offer,” Lena is hesitant. Like she’s scared that giving Kara the full details will upset her, but also like she has an urgency to share this with Kara. Kara feels both happy that Lena wants to communicate, and nervous to find out exactly  _ what  _ she’s communicating. 

“What… offer?” 

Lena sits up straighter and folds her hands in the way Kara has noticed she does when she’s making a proposal, or talking about business, “He said he’d sell the branch I’m looking to buy… if I agree not to see you anymore.”

Kara can feel it.  _ This  _ thing that made her happy is being torn away from her, too. Her brows furrow and she leans back, brushing her hands off on her pants. She doesn’t think twice about it; Lena is going to accept. Lena would have  _ always  _ accepted.

Because that’s who they are. That’s who they’ve become. It could never  _ be  _ about love, could it?

She doesn’t want to look at Lena. If she looks at her, she’s going to break down. She can feel it, “So… so we’re…” 

She feels smooth fingers reach under her chin, tilting her head up. As her eyes settle on Lena’s face once more, she doesn’t see any hint of  _ it’s over  _ on her face. Instead, Lena is giving her a look that screams  _ are you serious  _ as she processes what Kara  _ thinks  _ is happening. “I told him no, Kara. Of  _ course,  _ I told him no.”

Kara is fairly certain her chest explodes in that moment.

“There was a time, when I’d just met you, where that  _ was  _ my goal. I didn’t know why Max Lord had been hiring you for over a year, but I knew that he had never hired an escort before he hired you. I wanted to get close to you, to take you away from him. So that he would make this exact move,” Lena says, confirming almost every suspicion Kara had had from the beginning. “It all felt like it was sliding into place after you told me about your sister. I thought that  _ surely,  _ if he was using you to get to her, that he would want you back. I didn’t anticipate how long his pride would hold out before he pushed for it, though. And I didn’t anticipate being so drawn in by you right away, either.”

Kara listens, all of her focus being poured into Lena’s words. Kara can tell it’s incredibly hard for Lena to admit all of this. She can tell it’s hard for her to admit that Kara had started off as a pawn. 

“But then I saw your smile. Your  _ real  _ smile. And you started opening your heart to me, and I  _ wanted  _ to open my heart to  _ you, _ ” Lena goes on, smiling, “And I sort of forgot what I wanted at the beginning. All I knew was that I wanted  _ you.  _ I wasn’t sure that that was something you’d want, so I was content continuing to hire you. I thought if I just kept doubling Max’s offers that you would stick around, even after the contract expired. The last thing I expected was for you to tell me you felt the way I did.

“And then you did. And so…” Lena takes a deep breath, “when he reached out, I started having all of these thoughts. I just kept thinking that you would hate me forever if you knew the truth about how this all started out. And  _ that’s  _ how I knew I couldn’t keep it from you.  _ That’s  _ why I wanted to tell you. Because you deserve to know.” 

“Lena,” Kara whispers, her tears from thinking Lena was about to end things morphing into tears of the pure emotion that Lena caring for her  _ this much  _ puts into her chest, “I could never  _ hate  _ you. I think we both know I had suspicions when we first met. I think we  _ both  _ looked at each other as a means to an end. But we started falling, and that’s okay. You don’t have to feel guilty any more than I do.”

Lena smiles, tears in her eyes as well. One tips over and rolls down her cheek. Kara leans forward and kisses her deeply, running a thumb over the tear to wipe it away.

After a pause, Lena purses her lips and raises her gaze to the ceiling, inhaling and exhaling, “I want to talk to you about something else, in that case.”

“Of course.”

“My mother thinks I’m making a mistake, letting go of this offer and holding on to you,” Lena says. 

“Oh. You hardly talk about your mother unless it’s relative to Lex or your company,” Kara comments, unsure of how she’s supposed to take that.

“That’s because my mother and I have never really agreed on much,” Lena laughs bitterly. “You once asked me about Lex, and his reasons for stepping down. But there’s a few details about my mother that I left out. It was  _ her  _ greed that… that started everything. Once my brother was tucked away and she realized it was  _ me  _ he placed in charge and not  _ her,  _ she made it her mission to insist that I include her. That I… branch out. I got attached to the money too, I’ll admit.”

“I understand,” Kara nods, “My… my current  _ career  _ all started because of my sister, but… I  _ did  _ like the money. Even though the way I had to get it was less-than-ideal. I learned to separate myself from my emotions.”   
  


“Right! It’s like… you feel like it’s become normal, and you aren’t sure if change is possible at that point,” Lena says. All Kara can do is nod. “But then I met  _ you.  _ And it’s been so much more difficult that I thought it would be, keeping things bottled up. Pretending everything was normal. I had this perfect system before we met. The only person who really knew me was Lex. But then you just sort of… broke that away.”

_ I couldn’t relate more,  _ Kara thinks. Lena stares at her for a moment, eyes full of compassion and care, “So, my point is… I  _ don’t  _ think I’m making a mistake. I like where we are. And my mother can and  _ will _ mind her own business.”

Kara laughs, ducking her head. When she meets Lena’s eyes again, she’s watching lovingly. Kara sighs, “I like where we are, too.”

The next ten minutes are quiet. They eat some more of their food. They lock eyes every now and then, sharing smiles. Lena kisses her once or twice.

They’re in the process of cleaning up when Lena asks quietly, “So, uh… what did you mean earlier? About your sister and your career?”

Kara hesitates over the trash can, getting momentarily distracted with the bag of empty containers in her hand. She finishes out her task and turns around, leaning on the counter and keeping her arms tucked behind her. She bounces against the edge of the counter nervously. “Oh, uh… did I say that?”

“You said your career started because of her, yes,” Lena says. She seems to notice Kara’s anxiousness, “Unless you don’t want to talk about it! I don’t want to force you just because I dropped a few bombs already, and we haven’t even had ice cream.”

Right at the mention of ice cream, Lena pulls a tub of it out of the freezer. It’s Kara’s favorite: chocolate. Lena grabs two spoons and comes closer to Kara, drawing one of her hands out and leading her into the living room so they can sit down on the couch. She pops the lid off and hands Kara one of the spoons.

“It isn’t that I don’t want to talk about it. I want to be open with you,” Kara starts, “It’s just an uncomfortable subject, I guess.”

“I understand.”

Kara takes a breath, “Alex got sick, a little over eight years ago. She was still rising in the ranks at her job, so she wasn’t quite making the money she is now.  _ I  _ certainly wasn’t bringing in any big bucks as a brand new reporter. And her mother,  _ my  _ adoptive mother, wasn’t super well-off either. Alex’s medical bills… they were starting to pile up.”

Lena’s face shifts into that of realization the longer Kara talks. 

“I quit Catco. It was really demanding, and I wanted to be alongside Alex as much as I could be while also being able to support her financially.  _ That’s  _ around the time I stumbled across, well… you  _ know. _ ” 

“I’m so sorry,” Lena says, “How is… she’s okay now, right? Your sister?”

“Yeah, yeah. She has monthly checkups, so they can make sure the cancer hasn’t come back. But she’s otherwise okay,” Kara says. She feels her throat close up when she says it.  _ Cancer.  _ She hasn’t said the word out loud since Alex was deemed ‘better.’ 

“That’s good.”

There’s an understanding after that conversation, Kara thinks. One that wasn’t there before. Kara always knew they were similar. But  _ now  _ they’re similar in that they didn’t really have a  _ choice  _ when it came to who they became. There was always some sort of factor pushing at them from one side or the other, shoving them closer and closer to a path they didn’t want. 

It was finding each  _ other  _ that kept them from tumbling over the edge, into a fate that would be sealed forever.


	5. you hang from my lips

_ now you hang from my lips _

_ like the gardens of babylon _

_ with your boots beneath my bed _

_ forever is the sweetest con _

_ I’ve had some tricks up my sleeve _

_ takes one to know one _

_ you’re a cowboy like me _

_ and I’m never gonna love again _

-

“Be nice.  _ No  _ FBI talk, okay?” Kara says as she peers into the various pizza boxes that had just arrived. She gasps happily when she gets to the garlic knots and picks one up, taking a bite. She speaks through her chewing, “Lena is already scared of you. And this is  _ not  _ an investigation.”

“She’s scared of me and she hasn’t even met me?” Alex says smugly, “ _ That  _ is power.”

“Blah, blah. Whatever,” Kara rolls her eyes, “We’ve only been dating a month. I don’t need you to scare her off.” 

“Scare her how, exactly? By telling her about the time you broke someone’s nose while kissing?”

“That was  _ one  _ time!”

“You broke someone’s nose?”

Both Danvers sisters are scared out of their skin at the sound of a third voice joining their banter from Kara’s front door. Their heads turn at the exact same time and speed, their eyes zoning in on Lena Luthor, dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt Kara is fairly certain she’s been looking for for a week now. Kara is actually fairly impressed that Lena looks so  _ casual.  _ When she’d invited Lena to join her and Alex for movie-game night, the look Lena had given her when she told her to dress  _ casually and comfortably  _ had  _ not  _ been promising. She was expecting Lena to arrive in her usual expensive clothes, and she was  _ also  _ expecting Alex to pull her out of earshot and make a comment about it. 

But Lena looks cute. And cuddly. Kara cannot  _ wait  _ to snuggle up beside her on the couch.

“By kissing someone,” Alex adds once they both get over the shock of Lena appearing out of nowhere. Lena gives Kara a brow-raised look, clearly expecting her to explain.

“It was a long time ago!” Kara says defensively, “And… and… sometimes you don’t know your own strength!” Lena smiles sweetly at her as she approaches. She settles a hand around Kara’s waist as she steps into her space, leaning over to kiss her like she just can’t help it. Kara blushes as Lena turns her head to look at Alex, extending a hand in her direction.

“Alex Danvers, it’s great to meet you. Kara has told me a lot,” Lena’s smile holds up, hiding any trace of nerves that Lena had been expressing to Kara for three days now.

“You too, Lena,” Alex takes her hand and shakes it firmly and politely. “I hope you’ve got room, because Kara ordered enough to feed a small congregation.”

“I’m  _ pretty  _ sure that was mostly for her,” Lena says as she reaches for the first pizza box in front of her, initiating the divvying out of dinner. Kara eyes the pepperoni hungrily and puts three slices onto her plate to  _ start.  _ She doesn’t notice the look Lena and Alex share as they come to agreement on Lena’s comment.

Lena and Alex, it seems, have a great deal in common. Alex gets over the fact that she’s the billionaire sister of Lex Luthor almost immediately. And Alex  _ really  _ doesn’t trust anyone who makes over six digits a year. They start bonding over music, and literature, and obscure art Kara has never heard of. If Alex wasn’t head-over-heels crushing on Kelly Olsen, Kara might start to get a little jealous.

She’s fairly certain neither of them could relay  _ anything  _ that happened in the movie they watch. To be honest, Kara can’t either. She was too focused watching them bond with the biggest of grins on her face.

Since their last heart-to-heart, Kara has been falling steadily downward for Lena. They’ve pretty much moved in together at this point, alternating whose home they stay in. Kara feels a different sort of comfort with Lena that she hasn’t quite felt with anyone before. She wasn’t looking for it, it’s true, but she certainly isn’t going to deny it now that she’s found it. 

They’re in the middle of a game of cards when Lena sets hers down, smiling like she knows something and looking between Alex and Kara sneakily. She reaches into her bag at her feet and pulls out a small yellow file, not dissimilar to the one she’d brought with the contract. Kara feels her heart leap as Lena holds the file close to her chest.

“I’m sorry to interrupt the game. I was going to wait until the end of the evening, but the surprise is killing me,” She lowers the folder and hands it over to Kara, “I’ve been waiting to give this to you until tonight. I wanted you to be with one of the most important people in your life when you opened it.” She cuts her gaze over to Alex, who is  _ also  _ sufficiently surprised and curious. 

Kara turns it over in her hands, noting that the paperwork is thicker than their contract, so  _ that  _ couldn’t be it. Besides, they tore that up together two weeks ago. 

Alex reaches her foot over and kicks Kara’s leg lightly, “Open it, dummy.”

Kara opens it slowly and begins to read over the information. One of the first things that she notices is that it says  _ Catco  _ at the top, and is signed with James Olsen’s familiar signature, along with Lena’s. Without reading it, Kara starts to shake her head, “What is this?”

“I, um… I notice the way you get sad whenever you talk about Catco,” Lena says, a gentle look on her face, “I can tell you miss it. I  _ know  _ you do. So I talked to James. Filed some paperwork. Kara, there’s a job there if you want it. Right back in the reporting room. Where you  _ belong. _ ”

Kara starts to tear up, “Even though I… I…” 

“Your career does not define  _ you.  _ You’re a smart, capable woman. And your reporting is some of the best work I’ve ever seen,” Lena says. “...What do you think?”

“I…” 

Kara glances up at Alex. She’s smiling in a way that confirms Kara’s hope that Alex is beginning to love Lena almost as much as Kara does. And she  _ does.  _ She loves her.

“I think this is the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me,” Kara looks up, now properly crying, “I never thought I would meet someone like you.” Lena kisses Kara’s forehead sweetly. 

Alex has a dumb, happy look on her face. Like she’s going to cry, too. But like she just can’t stop smiling. “Can you just kiss her and tell her you accept?” 

And Kara does.

-

Lena makes it a habit to come by Catco’s office and speak with James more than she  _ really  _ has to. 

She made a joke last week when Kara started about  _ not  _ showing favoritism, but then they’d kissed anyway right in the middle of the main floor. Kara still smiles whenever she thinks about it. She smiles every time Lena gets a little too close for it to be professional.

It had surprised Kara when she’d started back. Not only did a lot of the long-time employees remember her, but they also lacked any sort of judgement or disgust in their eyes when talking to her, even after knowing what she did for eight years of her life to make a living. Kara had been on the cover of Catco three separate times after being seen with high-status individuals, so there’s no way they just  _ didn’t  _ know. It makes her confidence soar, especially when she’d spent the week before her first day back trying her best not to panic about how she might be treated upon returning.

But these people don’t care about that. They care about helping people. They care about getting stories out there, and spreading  _ truth _ .  _ Just  _ like Kara.

Who  _ knows  _ if she would have had the guts to return here without Lena. She supposes she’ll never know, but she doesn’t really  _ want  _ to know, either.

Kara looks forward to the little things with Lena. The small moments that make her realize she’s  _ incredibly  _ in love. Like when Lena is at the office talking to James, and they look up and lock eyes through the glass, sharing a smile. Like when Lena gets out her reading glasses to double check an email she opened hours ago just before going to bed. Like when she remembers to add an extra spoonful of sugar to Kara’s coffee without asking.

  
_ I’ll never find a love like this again,  _ Kara thinks.  _ Good thing I don’t want to. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! If you enjoyed and are looking for more content like this, feel free to subscribe to me here or check out my Tumblr page (@clexylexymain), where I post updates on new works coming out and accept prompt submissions! 
> 
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